| Mergers and Acquisitions – Related Information on the Internet previous page September 2, 2005 I. Introduction. The purpose of this article is to identify websites that might be useful to anyone who is concerned with such tasks as accounting for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), analyzing the results of M&A, and insuring M&A compliance. The Google and Yahoo search engines were used to identify websites with useful accounting, financial, and management information related to M&A. About fifty-five sites that were identified are presented in this article. The websites identified have been placed into one of five categories. These categories are: Government M&A policy, regulations, and compliance M&A data, statistics and activity Advice and guidance for successful M&A M&A accounting standards Websites with articles on various aspects of M&A The rest of the article will provide information on the websites with M&A information in each of these categories. II. Government M&A Policy, Regulations, and Compliance. This section identifies websites that provide information on governments’ (the US and other governments) regulatory and other policies concerning mergers and acquisitions. This link, www.ftc.gov, takes you to the home page of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a principle US government administrative agency dealing with US government merger policy implementations. Much information can be found at the FTC website on US government merger policy. Another US government agency dealing with mergers is the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, whose homepage is at this site, www.usdoj.gov/atr. A purpose of the Antitrust Division is enforcing US antitrust laws and prohibiting corporate mergers likely to reduce competitiveness beyond acceptable levels. US antitrust laws can be read at this site. Details on current and recent cases that the Division is dealing with can also be read at their site. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a regulation, known as Regulation M-A, which governs mergers and acquisitions with respect to the SEC’s oversight responsibilities. A good overview of the role the US Government has in merger approval, what companies should know about this role, and how companies pursuing a merger should proceed with respect to US Government requirements are in an article, written by Robert W. Doyle, available at this site, http://profs.lp.findlaw.com/mergers. At National Archives and Records Administration sites you can search the US Code for law related to mergers. For example, from this site, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html, you can find the sections of the Code pertaining to the Securities and Exchange Commission and its regulatory and compliance mission related to mergers. An important resource of information on the tax implications of cross border mergers can be found at this KPMG site, www.us.kpmg.com/microsite/mergersandacquisitions/index.asp. The IRS site, http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/, where large amounts of tax-related compliance information are available, should be extensively used during mergers. This link, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/internet/index.cfm?itemID=114&lg=e, takes you to the homepage of the Mergers Branch, a part of the Canadian Competition Bureau. One of the responsibilities of the Competition Bureau is to oversee mergers in Canada. From the Mergers Branch homepage, useful information on mergers in Canada is accessible. One report describes government processes in Canada, the Untied Kingdom, and the United States in reviewing mergers. III. M&A Data, Statistics, and Activity. In this section, websites are identified that provide data and statistics on merger and acquisition activity. A 1998 Small Business Administration study titled “Mergers and Acquisitions in the United States, 1990-1994” will be downloaded (pdf file) from this site link, www.sba.gov/advo/stats/m_a.pdf. Although the data in this study is dated, this is an excellent study that provides good analysis of the frequency and impact of mergers and acquisitions by industry and firm size for the period 1990 to 1994. This study serves as a good baseline benchmark. The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration analyzed merger activity in the electric power industry in 1999 and produced a study from this analysis, which is available at this site, www.eia.doe.gov/electricity/corp_str/toc.html. Mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the United States are presented at this Yahoo site, http://biz.yahoo.com/me, by month. Acquiring and target companies are identified and the terms of the deal are provided. Other related information is available. Source Media, Inc. maintains a site, www.mergersunleashed.com/, at which news on M&A activity is provided. Information is also provided on restructurings and bankruptcies. A lot of the content requires a subscription. CorporateAffliliations.com maintains a site, www.corporateaffiliations.com/dca/Executable/cn_mergers.asp, at which is listed companies that have merged, changed name, or went out of business in the last 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks and in the last year. Several databases with merger and acquisition data can be reached from this Valuation Resoruces.com website, www.valuationresources.com/TransactionData.htm. Unfortunately, most of the databases required a fee to access the data. Some free data is available at the IMAP Transaction and Pricing Surveys link. An analysis of the mergers of agricultural biotechnology companies is provided in a Journal of Agrobiotechnology Management & Economics journal article (written by King, Wilson, and Naseem), available at this site, www.agbioforum.org/v5n1/v5n1a04-king.htm. Merger and acquisition statistics are given for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries at this OECD site, www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/92-2001-04-1-2987/C.3.2.htm. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development maintains a database on cross-border mergers and acquisitions that can be linked to at this site, www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=3135. Registration (which is free) is required to gain access to the database. Supposedly, data for cross-borders M&A since 1987 are available. The Canadian Government maintains a website, www.asiapacific.ca/data/trade/index.cfm, which provides data on Canadian company M&A activity in Asia since 1994. The British Government maintains a website, www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=72, which provides both domestic and overseas merger and acquisition data. please click here to go to the next page |
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